Collaborative on Global Children's Issues

Throughout your career working with multilateral and non-profit organizations, governments, and private foundations, you have done tremendous work to support children at risk and build their resiliency. What motivates you to do this work?

I was initially trained in the fields of ethnic conflict and nationalism, which inevitably led to work in conflict environments. After spending a significant amount of time in the former Soviet Union–while important self-determination movements were underway (including in Ukraine)–I ended up working as a United Nations humanitarian affairs officer during the civil war in Angola. The work brought me face-to-face with some of the most extreme aspects of human vulnerability that I had ever experienced. Watching children and their caregivers navigate so much precarity reoriented me completely. I was effectively “coached” by a former child soldier who became one of the most important teachers in my life. Through him, and many other young people I’ve worked with since, I have learned that adversity and resilience swim in the same stream. You can’t work on one without noticing the other. And, of course, when you experience a young person’s resilience in the midst of so much pain and devastation, you realize it is the most powerful force on the planet. It’s that force that motivates me.

You developed the first whole-of-government strategy for U.S. international assistance to children while working at USAID's Center for Children in Adversity. What did this process look like?

It was a team effort. Nothing happens in the complex interagency space without a significant amount of collaboration. Congress passed a law in 1995–an unfunded mandate–that called for U.S. government agencies to ensure that foreign assistance for children is “comprehensive, coordinated, and effective.” This is easier said than done, given that there are more than 30 offices within seven U.S. government agencies and departments involved in research, policy, and programs related to children in developing countries.

Efforts to assist vulnerable girls and boys in low- and middle-income countries have often focused on single vulnerability cohorts and categories–for example, children affected by HIV/AIDS, in emergencies, or in the worst forms of child labor, including those who have been trafficked. Although such efforts have produced substantial benefits, this diffused approach has resulted in a fragmented response. Coordinated, multifaceted action can help ensure that children in adversity benefit fully from policies and services.

We established an interagency working group that continues to meet and work together. We convened an evidence summit that brought together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to examine the challenges and evidence-based best practices across our siloed streams of work and strengthen the research-policy-practice continuum. We then developed a whole-of-government action plan that continues to serve as an operational framework for U.S. government assistance to children. It is updated every five years. It is incredible to me that it has withstood the test of time. Then again, this is what happens when you build something collaboratively–and with children’s well-being and capacity for resilience at the center.

As a consultant with Montgomery County, Maryland’s Department of Health and Human Services, you saw an influx of migrant and asylum-seeking children, youth, and families in recent years. What have you found are the most effective ways to support these new residents?

Before working for Montgomery County, I had been working with UNICEF on its efforts to address the large numbers of unaccompanied migrant children approaching and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. As part of that work, we considered global discussions on adequate reception and care for unaccompanied migrant and asylum-seeking children. With a focus on practical solutions and promising practices in the United States and from around the globe, we sought to bridge the worlds of international child rights and protection, immigration, and domestic child welfare, illustrating how reception, care, and services for unaccompanied migrant children in the United States can be built around the best interests of each child.

Montgomery County happens to be one of the largest receiving areas in the country for unaccompanied migrant children reunifying with family members or other vetted sponsors. I was thrilled when I was invited to help the county think through ways to implement best practices to respond effectively and appropriately to these young people and their caregivers. We developed a strategy—the Bienvenidos Initiative—focusing on outreach and communications; navigation and case management; education and school-based services; legal orientation and service provision; positive youth development and recreation; and anti-discrimination, public safety, and trafficking prevention.

Perhaps the most powerful part of the county government’s response is the youth leadership conferences which have created space for newly arrived young people to develop connections with one another and our service providers. The county has recognized that lived experience is expertise and if we are to do right by these young people, we need to engage them in the design and review of the programs meant to serve them.

In September 2021, you became the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues inaugural executive director. Why did you decide to transition to higher education and work at Georgetown University?

Good question! This was not a career move that I saw coming, but when the opportunity presented itself it felt like a “yes-able proposition.” I have worked on the frontline, with the UN, in the U.S. government, local government, a variety of NGOs, in philanthropy, and as an independent consultant. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been able to work “for children” from all of those different angles. But in each position, I missed the opportunity to really dwell in a space that brought lived experience, research, policy, and practice together –
not just once in a while, but as a standard approach.

Just before my father passed, he said, “Universities can and should be places where you can have conversations that are not happening elsewhere.” I hold that closely now.

The truth is, we can’t effectively address any of the global crises of our time if we are not grappling with how young people are impacted. They bear the brunt of these difficulties in their daily lives and will inevitably inherit all the problem-solving these challenges require. That’s a conversation the world needs to have. I am very moved that Georgetown has committed to being a hub for these kinds of conversations. It’s a noticeable and unique commitment.

Since beginning your work with the collaborative, you have emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. How has the collaborative achieved this, and why is it important?

This goes back to the child soldier who gave me the one-two punch in Angola. How do we know what young people need if we don’t ask them and listen to their hard-earned wisdom? How do we know what challenges we face in responding to the needs of children if we don’t create a trustworthy space for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to be honest about what they’re up against? No one can be an expert on their own. We need each other’s experience and expertise if we’re actually going to get anything meaningful done.

What are you most looking forward to as the collaborative continues to grow?

I could offer a long list here, but I think what stands out most for me now is the opportunity to build and nurture a community that cares about children. The world is not getting any easier for children and young people. The work is hard. No one will ever get rich doing this work, and burnout is real. Many people working on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable (and resilient!) young people feel alone or up against too much. The antidote to these challenges is community and collaboration. Those who show up on the children’s side are a good tribe. It’s a privilege to convene them, lift up their good work, and learn from them.